What Are Friends For
by Lisa-Sinarae
Summary: Ryan runs into his best friend Brian McKlein from patrol at a crime scene. But later as he and Calleigh investigate, the evidence suggests Brian as a prime suspect. To clear his friend's name, Ryan goes back to the scene to find any clues that will get Brian off the hook and finds the definite evidence of the murder. But then he faces the real killer just before... / No pairing
1. Chapter 1: Long Time No See

**Before I start:**

**I am such a huge Korean fan of CSI, CSI NY, and CSI Miami series, currently residing in Korea. I started watching all three CSI ceries only about a couple of months ago, so I am still going through season 1 of the CSI Miami series right now, but already my favorite character is Ryan Wolfe ;P (And he doesn't even come out until season 3!) This is my very first fiction on CSI, and I was kind of very scared to upload my story, for I thought I would make a lot of grammatical and scientific errors due to my lack of knowledge. But I decided to be brave and just try it. I would really appreciate if you guys write reviews. Feel free to correct any mistakes and errors I made, but please just don't be so harsh..**

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Chapter 1. Long Time No See

A man was sitting on a small couch with a bowl of popcorns on his belly. He scooped a handful and stuffed the popcorns into his mouth. His eyes were fixed on the small set of television, in which an old fashion comedy show was on. He chuckled along with the laughing crowd in the TV.

Then there was a knock.

He frowned and took a glimpse of the door but didn't move. Instead, he turned his eyes back towards the TV.

Another knock.

Scowling, he stood up, put the bowl aside and went for the door. He opened it to see a guy wearing a black hoody. His face showed a joy at the sight of the hooded person.

"Ah, so you have what I want today?"

The hooded one didn't answer but just went past the old guy into the house. The door was closed.

* * *

"Well, that's a very gentle way of a murder."

This was Ryan's first response to the sight of the body.

The body was placed in the middle of the short corridor, right in front of the front door. The old man who was watching a comedy the night before was lying dead on the blood pool of his own. His shirt was soaked with blood and there were multiple cuts all over his body that were covered in blood.

"It certainly seems like someone had a grudge against this guy." Calleigh said, standing beside him.

"Well, doesn't about 90% of the killers have grudge on their victims?" Tom was kneeling next to the victim. "Anyway, this man here has numerous cuts all over the body. You see, here(forehead), here(left forearm), here(left shoulder), here(right thigh), and here(right calf)." He pointed each part as he explained. "Nothing major, but still it would've been very painful. And that's not all."

"Any ID on him?" Calleigh asked while her eyes stayed on the body.

"Dunstin Manson. 56. This is his house."

"So he died in his own home." Ryan said sorrowfully. Calleigh turned her face towards the living room. She could see the television.

"I think he was taking a rest." Calleigh turned her head and faced Ryan. "The TV's still on."

Ryan turned his face back to the victim, looking at him with pitiful eyes. Then he started looking around and found a blood trail on the floor. He took a few pictures with his camera.

"Well, I've got a blood trail." Ryan said as he came closer to the living room. Calleigh crouched down and observed the blood drops on the floor.

"It's gravitational. And judging by the direction, I think he was going for the door." Calleigh said.

"Well, he collapsed before he reached. Obviously." Ryan said as he got near the coffee table that was located in front of the sofa.

"And I guess we'll probably not be able to find vic's blood on our killer." Ryan wasn't in the sight from Calleigh's position, but his voice could be heard.

"Why's that?" Calleigh asked as she got up and walked towards the living room.

"Found these." Ryan picked up a black hoody and a pair of sweat pants that were soaked with blood and showed it to Calleigh. "And gloves too. Man, this guy's been prepared so well. And I think we have our murder weapon." He pointed to a long, thin knife on the floor with his head.

"It doesn't matter how well the killer was prepared." Calleigh said, walking past Ryan and bagging the knife. "We will get this guy, anyway."

"Yeah, of course." Ryan answered as he carefully put the bloody clothes into brown paper bags.

Leaving Calleigh process the scene, Ryan walked outside the house and saw a young woman standing right outside the yellow tape. A patrol officer told him that she was the finder of the body and also a daughter of the victim. Ryan walked over to her with his camera dangling on his shoulder.

"Excuse me, are you Miss Kiana Manson?" Ryan asked carefully.

"That's me." The young woman answered very quietly.

Ryan scanned through the young woman in front of him. Her face was very pale, but her expression seemed unaffected. She looked very calm, but still she was trembling. She had her arms crossed, and her fingers constantly moved. She looked at Ryan, but clearly she wasn't really paying much attention on him. It was perfectly fine to be anxious, scared, shocked, but for some reason she seemed like she was trying to hide those kinds of emotions.

"You… uhm, you found the body?" Ryan looked at Kiana and started asking gently.

"Uh huh." She nodded. Ryan could see her biting her lips.

"Do you have any idea who might have done this?" He slowly let out the words with great caution.

While Ryan was questioning the witness, Calleigh came out with bags that contained their precious evidence. She opened the trunk of Ryan's car and put them inside before closing it. Calleigh turned and walked to Ryan, who was appreciating Kiana for cooperating.

"Any luck?" Calleigh asked.

"Nothing much. She just found her father lying dead on the ground when she came home." Ryan frowned a little and answered.

"Hey, Ryan!"

Somebody called him and Ryan turned around. A smile filled his face as he saw a patrol guy walking toward him.

"Ry! It's been ages, man!" The patrol officer with a nameplate that read "McKlein" said, smiling. He was about 6 feet tall and skinny, but a bit muscular at the same time. He stretched out his hand and the two of them had a high-five.

"Brian! Hey, man!"

Ryan and Brian bumped their shoulders. After that, Ryan turned to Calleigh.

"Calleigh, this is Brian McKlein. He was my best buddy when I was in patrol."

"Um, I thought I still am your best buddy." Brian said, pretending he's been hurt, but grinning.

"Yeah, well, I meant that when I was in patrol." Ryan laughed as he made excuses.

"Whatever, man. Seriously, we gotta catch up sometimes. Hey, we've never met since you moved to crime lab."

"Yeah, I know. Well, I'll call you sometime later. Maybe when I break this case. Okay?"

Calleigh watched the whole situation with a smile on her face. It was like seeing a little brother hanging around with his friend.

After Ryan's meeting with an old friend, Calleigh and he got on the car to head to the lab. Calleigh was on the driver's seat, starting the car while Ryan looked back and saw his friend talking to another patrol guy. He smiled and faced the front again.

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**I know it's short... But that's all I've got for now... TAT**

**I really hope I can get some reviews on this... Please leave comments!**


	2. Chapter 2: No Way

**A/N:**

**I really appreciate everyone who wrote reviews! I read every review, and they really gave me strength and encouraged me to upload this next chapter. Of course, I was going to update it anyways. ;D I am terribly sorry for updating so late. I'm attending high school right now, and believe me, being a high school student in Korea is not easy at all(especially when you're in senior year, which I will be in next year...TAT). Anyways, I really hope you enjoy this horribly short story of what happened next.**

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**Chapter 2: No Way**

"So, what killed this guy?" Calleigh asked as she approached the body.

Tom had opened the victim up and had the organs checked.

"Well, to start with, he bled out," Tom said, "but the definite cause was the holes on his lungs."

"Suffocation?" Calleigh asked, looking at the body.

Tom nodded.

"Yeah. Must have been very painful. And the knife you found at the scene? It matched the wounds."

"So we have our murder weapon, but it's not very helpful." Calleigh said as she frowned a bit.

"Well, maybe this might give you something." Tom said as he turned the body slightly and showing her the back of the victim. There was a black figure on the victim's back, right below his left shoulder. It was a bow and an arrow fixed on it with a circle around it. The size of the tattoo was about one and a half inches wide and the same for the length.

"A tattoo." Calleigh muttered as she looked at the black mark curiously. She then picked up the camera and took a picture.

* * *

"Hey, Wolfe!"

Walter found Ryan walking down the hallway and stopped him. He had a file in his hand.

Ryan said after turned around to see Walter.

"Oh, hey, Walter. I've got something. They found cocaine in the victim's system."

"Cocaine?" Walter asked curiously.

"Uh huh. And Calleigh found a bag full of white powder. I processed it, and it turned out to be the same drug."

"Does it have anything to do with the case?"

"It can, maybe the victim was killed in the process of selling or buying it. Plus, I heard it was found right next to the victim."

Walter nodded slowly, his mind coming up with tens of ideas. Ryan looked at Walter's hand and noticed a file in his hand.

"What do you have?" Ryan asked as he pointed it.

"Oh, this?" Walter said as he came out of his thoughts.

"The victim, Dunstin Manson? Since we don't have much evidence that can help us, I've done some background search on him."

Walter handed the file to Ryan, who opened and read the paper inside.

"Served time for manslaughter." Ryan read out loud.

"He ran over a patrol officer with his car. He had a son who watched it all of it happen." Walter explained.

"But it was an accident. Does somebody hold a grudge on someone over an accident?" Ryan answered as he knitted his brows and saw Walter.

"Still, it at least gives us something to start with." Walter said. Ryan looked into the file again and frowned at one name on the paper. "And besides, that's not all."

"Not all?"

"See, this guy was hit by a car, and the victim of the accident was carrying a bag of cocaine in his pocket. They found cocaine in his system, too. But the thing is, the 10 year-old-boy stated that his father was never a junkie, and insisted that he saw Dunstin Manson injecting something in the victim's body. Nobody listened, really"

"Because the witness was so young?" Ryan looked up to ask.

"That too. But the main reason was because the guy turned himself in right after the accident. He said he was just driving and a man suddenly jumped into the road. The DA thought the case was extenuating. So Dunstin was able to reduce some years he needed to serve."

Ryan nodded and looked into the file again.

"Wait, the victim's name is Josh McKlein?" He looked up at Walter and asked.

"Yeah, and guess what? His son is in patrol, too. His name is…."

"Brian McKlein?" Ryan asked in shock.

"How did you know?" Walter scowled.

"No, no, no, no. No way." Ryan said as he shook his head. Ryan closed the file and handed it to Walter. "There's no…. There's no way Brian did this."

"So, you know this guy?" Walter asked as he held the file again.

"Yeah. He's my buddy from patrol."

Walter gave him the look of understanding. He looked into the file again and said with a troublesome face.

"Wolfe, he's the prime and the only suspect now. I understand the situation here, but… We gotta do our job."

"I'm afraid we'll have to bring your friend in, Ryan." Calleigh's voice was came from behind Ryan. Ryan and Walter both turned their eyes to Calleigh.

"I found a hair on the shirt from the crime scene, and got a result saying that the hair belongs to Brian McKlein." Calleigh said.

"Oh, no…" Ryan murmured.

"Well, he's the only one we can find with a motive." Walter said, kind of sorrowfully.

"What do you mean?" Calleigh frowned a little with confusion as she asked.

"His father was killed in a car accident caused by the victim." Walter explained. "If, just if he held a grudge over the incident, then…"

"He could have killed him." Calleigh nodded and said.

Ryan remained silent while resting his chin on his hand. He couldn't believe the fact that his best friend is now a main suspect of a murder case. He trusted his Brian and never doubted that he could go wrong. Brian seemed to be the most right-minded man he had ever known. And he knew that there would be no harm to bring his friend in, for he believed that Brian was innocent. When Walter was done with the explaining, he opened his mouth. "Let's bring him in."

"Is it okay with you?" Calleigh asked with worried voice. "I know it's hard."

"But we have to do our job." Ryan finished the words. "I just hope the truth is that Brian is 100 percent clean."

* * *

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Calleigh asked Ryan outside the interrogation room. Inside, there was Brian sitting on one side of the table, nervously massaging his own hands while his deep-in-thoughts eyes stared his front blankly.

Ryan pursed his lips as he looked into the interrogation room and saw his best friend sitting there.

"I have to." Ryan said, facing Calleigh again. "I know he didn't, but if, IF, like in a chance of one in a zillion, Brian committed murder, I have to make sure he pays for it."

The last words were spoken with such a sad voice. But his voice was full of confidence. Calleigh looked at him in a mixture of grief and pride for him being in such a difficult situation yet being very upright.

They both went into the Interrogation room.

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**What would Brian say? Don't ask me. I don't know either... I didn't write it yet.. ;P**

**I really hope I could be able to update real soon. In the meantime, please leave reviews!**


	3. Chapter 3: Interrogation

**A/N:**

**I know the update is getting late, and I'm really sorry about that. The thing is, I have a very important exam coming up in a couple of days, and I had to prepare for it... Though I'm not really studying that much... Anyways, I hope you enjoy this one, and please, Review!  
**

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**Chapter 3. Interrogation**

Brian looked up as he heard some people coming in. He smiled at the sight of Ryan. Ryan gave him a little smile back while Calleigh sat in the chair, facing Brian.

"Officer McKlein?" Calliegh said.

Brian looked at her and smiled again and said, "Brian, please."

"Okay, Brian." Calleigh smiled back and looked down at the folder in front of her. She opened the file and took out a small photo of the victim Dunstin Manson. She pushed it to Brian. "Do you know Dunstin Manson?"

Brian took the picture and looked into it.

"'Course I know him. Isn't this the guy who died this morning?" Brian answered after putting down the photo.

"Yes, he is. But I'm not asking that." Calleigh said. She looked straight into his eyes. "Do you know him personally?"

"This guy? No. Can I know why you're asking it?" Brian looked first at Ryan then at Calleigh.

"Brian, where were you last night around 11?" Calleigh said. Ryan had his arms crossed and was looking at Brian.

Brian looked at Ryan for a while. Their eyes met and were having brief conversation about the situation they both were in.

"It was my day off yesterday and I was just having a rest in my home. Catching up some books I've been planning on reading." Brian looked at Calleigh and answered.

"Mr. Josh McKlein is your father, right?" Calleigh asked while looking into the file.

There was a momentary silence. Brian frowned and stared at Calleigh.

"Yes." Brian answered. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"It says here that you saw your father die by an accident." Calleigh said. "Did you see who the driver was?"

"I didn't get to see the face, but I'm sure he was a male in his thirties or forties." Brian answered with stiff and unpleasant tone. "What's this all about?"

"Did you know that this guy," She pointed to the victim in the picture and continued, "was the one who killed your father?"

Brian looked at Calleigh with annoyance filling his eyes.

"So, you think I killed him?" Brian snorted. He fixed his posture and leaned forward. "I said I was home last night. I didn't even go near that place."

"Brian, we found a hair from a black hoody we got from the crime scene. And the hair was yours." Calleigh said. She handed Brian another picture with the evidence in it.

"It's nothing out of ordinary. That shirt is mine." Brian said after looking at the picture. "I lent it to my friend Max a couple of days ago when he spilt beer on his shirt. I didn't get it back from him."

"Max? Max Lukas?" Ryan asked. Brian looked at Ryan.

"That Max." Brian nodded. He turned his eyes to Calleigh again. "Look. I didn't kill anyone."

Ryan and Calleigh exchanged looks. She turned to Brian and said, "All right, Brian. You may go."

Brian got up from the chair and walked out of the room. Calleigh and Ryan looked at him walk down the hall and disappear at the corner. After he was gone, they looked at each other.

"You know this Max?" Calleigh asked to Ryan.

"He's in patrol, too." Ryan said. "Should we bring him in?"

"I don't know. We don't have much evidence to help us." Calleigh said.

"Why don't we ask the daughter?" Ryan suggested.

"Kiana Manson? What for?" Calleigh looked up at Ryan with curiosity on her face.

"Maybe she can give us some information about her father's life." Ryan raised his shoulders.

"You talked to her already. Do you really think there's something left that she didn't tell you?"

"Still, she is the only one who can give us further information other than what we have right now." Ryan answered. "Besides, we really don't have anything else."

* * *

Kiana Manson was waiting in front of the reception desk.

"Hi, Ms. Manson. Thank you for coming in." Calleigh said as she and Ryan approached her.

"You have something to ask me?" Kiana asked.

"Do you know any person who might have had a bad relationship with your father?" Calleigh asked.

"Honestly, I don't really know. I didn't really get along well with him. I live in dormitory and only visited him like once a week or so." Kiana said.

"Don't you remember anything out of ordinary? Anyone at all?" Ryan asked.

"Come to think of it, I remember him meeting a few police officers." Kiana frowned as she went through her memories. "He usually really looks down upon policemen for some reason. Never knew why."

"How did you know they were police? Were they in their uniforms?" asked Calleigh.

"They weren't. Dad told me." Kiana answered.

"Do you know their names?" Calleigh asked.

"Well, one was Max Lukas. He told me himself. The other, I didn't get a chance to talk to him. They both weren't wearing uniforms." Kiana said. Calleigh and Ryan exchanged looks at the name of Max Lukas.

"Can you describe the other one?" Calleigh asked.

"Um… I remember one was tall, maybe 6 feet tall? With sandy hair, kind of skinny a bit…"

"Wait, did he look like this?" Ryan showed a picture of Brian to Kiana. Kiana looked into it.

"Yes. That's him." Kiana answered.

Ryan and Calleigh looked at each other. Ryan sighed and Calleigh thanked Kiana and told her she may leave.

"I'm gonna go back to the crime scene. There may be something we missed." Ryan said after Kiana left.

"Then I'll take a closer look at the evidence we have for now. I still have to search for the tattoo." Calleigh said.

They both walked down the hallway until they were separated in front of the elevator.

* * *

Ryan got out of the hummer with his kit. He locked the car and walked under the yellow tape. He stopped and looked at the house with a sigh before he went in. It was so quiet, just the way it was expected to be, but somewhat creepy too. The blood stain on the pool or the fact that there had been a murder in this place wasn't creating this spooky kind of atmosphere. Ryan has been to many crime scenes, and yet this was actually giving him a chill for some reason. He couldn't find out why but maybe the idea of accusing his best friend of a murder was something that evoked his fear.

He opened the front door. When the door opened, a wall could be seen. It was a plain wall with nothing on it. Most people would have decorated that sort of space with paintings or family photos, but in that house only a huge white blank was there. The wall was actually ornamented now, of course, with bloody handprints, which indicated that the victim was running away from the living room towards the door.

And when he turned to his right, he could see the living room. Ryan decided to have a look around again to make sure. The living room was small but looked rather comfy. Right next to it was the kitchen, looking clean enough to make him wonder if a person actually ever used it.

He went near the couch with his flashlight on and searched every space. Literally. He looked at the space between the sofa and the wall. He checked every cushion on it. He even knelt down to look underneath the couch.

And there he found something.

He stretched his arm and picked the thing with his gloved hand. When he saw what it was he couldn't but be shocked at what he saw. He stared it for a while and took out his phone.

"Yeah?" Calleigh's voice came through it.

"Calleigh, I think I found the killer." Ryan said slowly with gloom in his voice.

"Really? Who?" Calleigh's voice sounded surprised.

"It's…" Ryan just opened his mouth when he heard someone's footsteps from behind. It seemed that someone was walking into the living room. He just froze and didn't turn around but showed nervous expression on his face. "I'm gonna have to call you back."

"What? But Rya…." Calleigh started to talk but Ryan just hung up.

He turned around.

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**Once again, I'm really sorry for the delay and please review. Gosh, it's 2:43 in the morning right now here in Korea, and I seriously have to go to bed...**


	4. Chapter 4: Something's Wrong

**A/N: Yes, I'm finally back, everyone! I'm so sorry for such delayed update. I really wanted to finish this story before the new year came but eventually I failed. Oh, well. At least I'm here with another chapter. But I'm so sorry that it's terribly short, but this was the best I could do. I hope you enjoy, and please REVIEW! ;D**

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**Chapter 4. Something's Wrong**

"So he just hung up? Just like that?" Walter asked as he and Calleigh walked down the hallway.

"Yeah. And he's not answering his phone." Calleigh stopped as she answered. Walter stood in front of her. "Something's not right. It was so unnatural of him to end a call like that. There's definitely something going on."

"Do you want me to go and check on him or something? He's at the vic's house, right?" Walter said as he pointed towards the elevator with his thumb.

Calleigh didn't answer but thought silently for a very short moment. "Hold on," she said as she took out her phone and dialed someone's number.

* * *

Eric was in Horatio's hummer on the way back to the lab. They had just figured out the killer of a vicious murder case of a young boy they were working on. After they saw the killer being arrested, they headed back to the lab. It was when they were about ten minute away from getting there that Eric received a phone call.

"Yeah." Eric talked into the phone.

"Hey, Eric? Are you heading back to the lab right now?" Calleigh's voice came out of the phone.

"Yeah, I think we'll be there in about ten minutes."

"Oh, then could you do me a favor?"

"What do you want?"

"Please stop by 721 NW 29th Street. Check if Ryan's there, please. It's our crime scene and Ryan went there for additional investigation, but he's not answering his phone."

"Okay. I'll call you when I get there."

Eric hung up and turned his head to Horatio, who was driving.

"Calleigh asked if we can stop by at a crime scene, look for Ryan." Eric told Horatio.

"Where do we need to go?" Horatio asked.

"NW 29th street." Eric answered.

* * *

Calleigh looked at Walter after she hung up. "Eric said he and Horatio are stopping by to check on Ryan."

Walter nodded.

"Well, then, let's get back to our job."

"What do you think Ryan was going to say, before he hung up?" Walter asked as he and Calleigh walked down the hallway together.

"I don't know. Like I said, he told me that he found the killer. He was just about to give the name when he just hung up." Calleigh said.

"Well, we'll know when he gets back." Walter raised his shoulder.

* * *

As Horatio's hummer drove on the street, they could see a small house surrounded by familiar yellow tape.

"Well, that must be it." Horatio said as the house came near.

"And there's a hummer there. Must be Ryan's." Eric said, pointing to the car in front of the house.

Horatio parked his behind Ryan's hummer before he and Eric got out. Eric went under the tape, followed by Horatio, and opened the door.

"Wolfe! You in there?" Eric called as he stood by the front door. "Wolfe!"

No answer came back. Eric and Horatio looked at each other.

"Mr. Wolfe, are you here?" Horatio stepped in and called for the young CSI of his.

Again, no sound came back.

Frowning, Eric went inside. He turned to his left and checked the bathroom. He then checked in the small room next to the staircase before he went upstairs. "Wolfe! Wolfe? Ryan!"

Horatio headed to the living room, calling, "Mr. Wolfe!" He noticed the stain of blood trail on the corridor but assumed that it was from the murder victim. After all, it was a crime scene. He went into the living room and looked around to find a stain of blood near the couch. He then turned his eyes to the kitchen on the right and found a very shocking scene.

"Mr. Wolfe!" Horatio shouted in shock and hurried towards the young CSI lying on the floor.

Ryan was lying there on his side, blood pool that formed around him slowly getting bigger. His eyes were closed and his breathing was shallow. His clothes were soaked in red with his own blood. He was shot three times on his lower left spot on his chest, left side and right of his stomach.

"Mr. Wolfe!" Horatio called as he knelt down next to the young man, checking for his pulse and breaths. "Eric! I've found him! Get down here quickly, Eric!"

Eric ran towards the living room and stepped in front of the kitchen. His eyes widened as he saw Ryan lying on a blood pool, unconscious.

"Call for an ambulance, Eric!" Horatio said as he carefully turned the young CSI to his back.

"This is Eric Delko, Miami-Dade PD! I need an ambulance at 721 NW 29th street ASAP! Officer down! Repeat, OFFICER DOWN!"

"Ryan! Ryan! Open your eyes, Ryan!" Horatio called in effort to wake the young man up. "Ryan!"

"Ryan! Wake up! Ryan!" Eric sat next to Horatio and shouted for Ryan to get out of unconsciousness.

Then Ryan slowly opened his eyes a little bit. Though it was only halfway through, he seemed to recognize the person in front of him.

"Eh…H…." Ryan mumbled in a whisper.

"Ryan. Do not fall asleep! You have to stay awake!" Horatio told Ryan as he tried to deter the bleeding with his hand. Eric did the same thing as Horatio and applied pressure on Ryan's

Ryan slowly raised his arm and grabbed Horatio's. He tried very hard to say something.

"B….. B...Rr… Br…"

Then he started to cough up blood. Horatio and Eric watched it with horror.

"No, no, no, Ryan. Don't speak." Eric said in panic.

However, Ryan kept mumbling something even when blood keps comin out through his mouth. He then coughed out blood and slowly slipped into unconsciousness again.

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**I hope I can come back with more story soon. Once again, please leave comments!**


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